Siege of Asti (1494)

The Siege of Asti (1494) occurred during the Italian War of 1494-98, when two French armies (led by Evrart de Balliol and Marc Arnaud) laid siege to the northern Italian city-state of Asti. Asti put up fierce resistance, and the French suffered 288 losses during their conquest of the city.

During the French advance into Italy, King Charles VIII of France neglected to subdue the northern Italian states, instead advancing directly on one the most powerful Italian states, Florence. With Florence and the rest of Tuscany falling under French control, King Charles sought to subdue the troublesome city-states of the north to ensure that the French held hegemony over the western side of the Italian peninsula. Carrying out this task were the generals Evrart de Balliol and Marc Arnaud, neither of whom had seen battle before. However, they brought with them large armies of professional soldiers. Their first task was to besiege the city of Asti in Piedmont, which blocked a French advance into Lombardy and central Italy. The two armies combined forces and build siege works, namely battering rams, with the goal of reducing Asti. The French succeeded in crashing the gates and charging into the city, overwhelming the Astigian forces. Asti was punished for her resistance, with the French soldiers massacring 520 Astigian civilians and plundering 1,998 gulden from her coffers. The French tide seemed unstoppable, and the states of northern Italy now had to fear its continutation into their lands.